The group that burst in was made up of ten individuals, all dressed in drab, tightly fitted clothing. Some wore long cloaks that concealed their heads, while others had half-masks or scarves pulled up high enough to show only their eyes. Their movements were a mix of chaotic and coordinated, each person seemingly assigned a role, as if they had rehearsed this heist multiple times. They carried various weapons—guns, short knives, batons, and some odd tools that looked like they could grasp or manipulate objects in strange ways. Overall, they appeared menacing, but the most striking feature was the bizarre symbol they had, a circular emblem that looked like three animal heads melded together, each facing a different direction, giving a very unsettling vibe.
They quickly dispersed to different areas of the restaurant, their mission start: to steal lexecons.
In the deep part of the restaurant, two men crouched down, complying with the robbers just like everyone else. It was around 4-5 PM, and they had chosen this exact moment to make their move.
Elric wasn't a lexmancer, so he couldn't fight back, as for the others, he wasn't sure—but there was one guy he knew was definitely a lexmancer, Sila. He'd claimed to be part of the Survivor Guild, which required its members to be lexmancers. So, that much was certain.
Feeling a wave of relief, Elric turned to look at Sila, who was nearby.
Sila was scribbling furiously on a piece of paper, and Elric found it a bit odd but tried to stay calm.
"What are you doing? Trying to come up with a plan to deal with them?"
Sila barely glanced up before getting back to writing.
"Planning? Nah, I'm writing a will." He pointed at a napkin lying nearby. "Want to draft one? I've got a pen. Just make sure to hide it well—better to grip it in your hand so whoever finds you can see it easily."
Elric was completely bewildered. He looked between Sila, the robbers, and the paper that had transformed into a will out of nowhere. The whole situation felt surreal.
"Aren't you supposed to be a lexmancer? Why don't you just fight them?" he asked.
Sila kept writing, his demeanor calm despite the chaos surrounding them, almost like he was doing something routine.
"Lexmancers aren't invincible. We're just regular folks with a few tricks up our sleeves. We're not mutants or demons. A bullet can still take you out."
Elric felt a mix of confusion, stress, and disbelief at how nonchalant Sila seemed. He knew they were in a serious situation—these robbers weren't just amateurs.
The restaurant was in disarray. Tables were overturned, chairs pushed aside. People were huddled low—some covering their heads, others peeking through their fingers. The noise of scraping chairs, murmurs, and hurried footsteps created a tense atmosphere, and the air felt thick with panic.
Outside, a crowd was gathering. Some folks peeked in, others stood at a distance, and a few were calling friends to come watch, treating it like some must-see event. horse carriage slowed down, and pedestrians clustered together. The unrest was spreading like ripples in a pond.
Two robbers moved about, choosing their victims. They would touch someone, wait a moment, and then a lexecon would float toward them.
Sila occasionally looked up while he continued to write.
"They're probably syncing up frequencies… frequency pathways, at least rank 3 lexecons." he murmured, sweat trickling down his face.
Elric had no clue what Sila was talking about. Sighing, he realized learning this stuff was frustratingly difficult. He wasn't about to ask more questions, though—now certainly wasn't the right time.
Luckily, they were sitting at the far end, so the two thieves who could steal hadn't reached them yet. But the others were vigilant, keeping a watchful eye on every corner, including theirs. Elric needed to come up with something.
That morning, he had stumbled upon a pair of twins dealing drugs—and worse, doing something immoral with minors. He had gone home, thrown up, calmed down, and gone back out in the evening… only to end up smack in the middle of a robbery.
Why target a restaurant? Why not hit a bank or some high-value spot?
He threw a glance at the robber stationed near them and tried to speak up.
"Hey… is there anything I can do to help? I'm not a lexmancer or anything."
The robber was fully covered, but her build suggested she was quite young—slender and agile, with cautious eyes peeking out from the mask. Her outfit was so tight that not a scrap of skin was visible.
"No. Stay put. We won't harm anyone," a soft voice filtered from beneath the mask.
A girl? And her voice sounded sweet—she was probably quite young.
"We might be about the same age, so—"
Before Elric could finish, a gun was pointed at him.
That made it clear—this gang was only interested in lexecons.
Tension cranked up a notch. No one dared to breathe loudly. The silence came in waves, mixed with whispers, fear, and discomfort.
The robbers who could steal were closing in now.
Elric glanced at Sila, who had wrapped up his writing and handed him the pen. Elric rejected it—who on earth writes their will during a robbery?
Seeing Sila done, the female robber aimed her gun at him.
"Give it here. I need to see what that is."
Facing a gun was a different matter, so Sila handed it over without a fight. She read it carefully.
[Back then, I went mountain climbing with my mother. There was something she said that I never forgot. It was engraved deep in my memory. Even if I died and was reborn countless times, I'd never forget it. It was a wonderful sentence. It was…]
Her expression shifted, conflicted. She didn't want to invade someone's privacy, but she needed to make sure the plan wouldn't fail.
She kept reading.
[That sentence was: I knew you'd read this, you dumbass XDGGEZ]
She froze up, then furiously ripped the paper apart in anger. As she tore it again and again, an explosion erupted same time as the two thieves approached.
The blast sent them flying, but they weren't seriously hurt. Meanwhile, Sila sprang into action, sprinting out with his untouched coffee cup still in hand.
Elric wasn't dumb. Even without a signal, he got it—Sila hadn't been writing a will. He'd been plotting their escape. Without a second thought, Elric took off after him.
"Stop or we'll shoot!" the robbers shouted, their voices calm but threatening.
Sila flipped them off. "Dumbasses."
A Tree of Life materialized in his hand, glowing a deep purple. Elric didn't understand how it worked, but using a lexecon wasn't something simple.
He remembered the first time he had seen it in action—at the hospital. It took people time to react, and not everyone could wield their lexecon fully. Even the twins he had met before seemed unable to unleash theirs completely.
Now he had a theory.
To use a lexecon, there had to be certain conditions met first.
Sila might have failed in the past—but now? He had nailed it.
"Shoot his Tree of Life!" the robbers shouted and fired their weapons.
In that critical moment, Sila coolly sipped his coffee, annoyance flashing across his face.
"I told you, twenty spoons of sugar."
He splashed the coffee at the incoming bullets.
The bullets vanished as soon as they touched the coffee.
Elric was taken aback—but then it clicked. Those bullets were made of cerulean Stone.
He remembered someone mentioning that cerulean Stone bullets disappear upon impact—it was one of their properties.
Sila had somehow managed to make the bullets collide with the coffee, causing them to vanish.
That was insane…But brilliant.
As they neared the exit, three muscular men blocked their path, summoning their own Tree of Life.
Sila sidestepped toward a glass panel and casually raised his middle finger.
"Idiots."
He dismissed his Tree of Life, pulled out cerulean Stone, and tossed it at the glass. Even though it was just a simple throw, the glass shattered instantly due to the stone's ability—and the stone itself vanished.
Sila and Elric made their break for it.
Inside, chaos erupted. People shouted, others gawked at the shattered glass, while some scrambled to collect themselves. Their faces bore expressions of rage and disbelief.
One of the burly men—likely the leader—urgently spoke.
"They got out. The charm is breaking. People can get in now."
The robbers gritted their teeth in frustration. Their Cerberus group had trained for a long time for this heist. Every detail had been carefully planned.
They even bought a D-rank charm from the black market to block outsiders. That's why no one had intervened.
But it had a flaw…
...
"That's my statement," Sila said.
Now they found themselves facing the police, who had just made it in after watching them flee.
Sila claimed his teacher had pushed him hard in survival and escape tactics, including how to handle charms like this. He knew that if even one person managed to escape, the charm would fall apart.
Elric couldn't help but admire him silently. Crazy, but seriously sharp.
When Sila wrapped up, it was Elric's turn to speak. Just then, another officer approached.
"All robbers have disappeared. All hostages are safe."
He presented a tray holding something Elric recognized—a charm, corroded by abstraction.
He had seen one before—back during his contract with the History Guild.
The police murmured to one another.
"Didn't expect Cerberus to switch from cash to lexecons. Must be more lucrative. And they've got someone on the frequency path too… possibly even a physicist behind them."
Initially, the charm seemed like a regular device, but up close it had a complex layered structure. Its core was dull metal, engraved with intricate circular runes, faint light glowing through the grooves. Dark crystals and thin metal seals adorned the edges, giving it an official and dangerous feel—like something that held back what should not see the light.
Elric stared at it until it was out of sight.
Next to him, a blond man was calmly brewing coffee for Sila.
This man was tall and lean, his fair skin giving him a distinct American look, with sharp yet gentle eyes. His neatly styled blond hair and simple but refined clothes suggested someone from a different culture—composed and orderly.
Elric approached Sila.
"You're seriously impressive."
Sila simply nodded.
Meanwhile, the blond man started adding sugar to the coffee—one spoon, two, three… until he reached twenty.
Elric was more stunned by that than by the robbery itself.
Sila drank the coffee with a satisfied smirk.
"This is my servant. His name is Sullivan."
…
The robbers' hideout was in a half-abandoned building tucked away in a side district. On the outside, it looked ordinary, but inside was hastily arranged, with maps and equipment strewn about. Dim lights cast uneasy shadows across the room.
Though they nearly got caught, they managed to escape using teleportation. The one with that ability had been the girl Elric spoke to earlier.
She peeled off her disguise.
Slender and around eighteen, she had sharp Eastern European features and pale skin. Her cold eyes and unreadable expression made her seem dangerous.
"We need a new plan," she said.
The leader assessed their losses.
"Almost 100 cerulean Stones gone… Are you alright, Kira?"
She clenched her teeth. "That jerk stashed cerulean Stone in the paper. It blew up when I ripped it."
The leader grinned.
"It doesn't matter. We've still got other plans."